Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/97647
Sarasota News Leader December 7, 2012 "We will be focusing on Charles Ringling, of course," said Ca' d'Zan curator Ron McCarty in the news release. "But we will also be including lots of information about John and their sister, Ida Ringling North, to provide insight into their family holdings in Sarasota and their investments in Sarasota's future. Truly, the Ringling family members developed so much of what we enjoy today in Sarasota," he added. The Charles Ringling event at Crocker Memorial Church is the third in a series of year-long panel discussions organized by the Historical Society of Sarasota County. Conversations at The Crocker events highlight specific aspects Page 57 of Sarasota's past and examine pivotal events and people who have influenced Sarasota today, the release notes. Proceeds from this panel discussion series help to maintain the Historical Society's two heritage properties at Pioneer Park — the Bidwell-Wood House (1882, Sarasota's oldest private residence) and the Crocker Memorial Church (1901). Docent-led tours of both buildings are available an hour before each of the Conversations at The Crocker events. Charles Ringling/Contributed For additional information, contact Linda Garcia at 364-9076 or visit www.HSOSC.com. HABITUAL OFFENDER ARRESTED AS HE DRIVES AWAY FROM COURT On Dec. 4, the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office arrested Lashay Alexander Smith, 45, of 2441 Central Ave., Sarasota, for driving with a suspended or revoked license for the sixth time. Smith appeared before a judge the same day on contempt charges for Driving With a Suspended License and was admonished not to drive, according to a Sheriff's Office report. Plainclothes deputies were conducting an operation at the courthouse, the report says, watching defendants with suspended licenses after they left the courtroom. The report says Smith walked to a white Mercury sedan he had parked in a lot at 1926 Golf Drive. He was taken into custody after deputies watched him start to exit the lot onto Adams Lane in downtown Sarasota, the report adds. Lashay Smith/Contributed In all, this is Smith's 50th arrest in Sarasota County for a variety of crimes, including False Imprisonment, Battery and the Sale and Possession of Rock Cocaine, the Sheriff's Office reported. Half of those arrests were for Violation of Probation and Contempt of Court, a news release notes.